


The Scent of Moonlight Flowers

by FuwaFuwaMedb



Category: Fate/EXTRA, Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/stay night - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 03:08:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30048990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuwaFuwaMedb/pseuds/FuwaFuwaMedb
Summary: Plagued by the dreams of the singularity ongoing, Caster Gilgamesh finds himself pestered further by a clairvoyant dream of a woman he has never seen before. And then, as he finds himself preparing for the singularity that is Babylonia, here she is. What is one to do with a flower blooming forth before him?
Relationships: Gilgamesh | Archer/Kishinami Hakuno, Gilgamesh | Caster/Kishinami Hakuno
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	The Scent of Moonlight Flowers

He had awakened to another day.

It was like any other. The servants were moving to the edges of his room, opening the linens to let the light come into the room. The lions were climbing off his bed, their bodies a replacement of warmth which would have once been the bodies of lovers he had taken out of whimsy.

His red eyes stare up at the ceiling, taking in the ceiling murals of great anzu birds and celestial orbs. His eyes chase the images until they reach the sight of the sun. Fatigue creeps back into the background. Duty climbs upon his shoulders once more like a mantle, giving him the strength to reach forth and begin the day.

His feet tread upon the ground until he can wrap himself once more in the colors and fabrics of his people. The crowning turban he places upon his head feels heavier than the day before, its thin white veil behind it tickling at his neck.

Another day.

It’s another day…

“My king,” Siduri’s voice calls to him as he stands dressed before his servants. “Forgive me, but there have been changes in the world once again. The scryers have been consulted, but they say that things have shifted again. Their vision is-“

“Blocked.”

The woman pauses at his interruption. Her eyes are wide as he nods.

“That is enough for now,” he murmurs to the help. He moves closer to the assistant’s side to continue this conversation. “I am aware of the situation. I can be as clairvoyant as any other, even more so if I choose to attempt doing so.”

“Of course.”

“They cannot see what is happening. Did they at least see the Chaldeans?”

“Chaldeans?”

Gilgamesh closes his eyes, sighing softly.

It would seem that this wasn’t the case. Siduri had only been informed of what they were incapable of, not what they _were_ capable of. It was a shame, but then- it was only to be expected of the priests of the temples. Far too many were inept, incapable of doing more than being a nuisance.

“Should I be preparing in some manner?”

“Preparing?”

“You are dressing in your full attire today, rather than simple robes,” Siduri pointed out. “I am used to the white fabric and the red and gold adornments. Instead, you are dressed in far greater. It must mean that these Chaldeans that you speak of are going to be of interest in some manner, enough so that you felt the need to showcase your brilliance.”

“You are a silver tongued fool, Siduri.”

“I do my best, my king.”

The smile on her face is only too amusing. She never truly changes. It was a balm he wasn’t sure what to do with. Still, she’s correct.

The Chaldeans would be arriving this evening, more towards the late hours of the day. Merlin would be bringing them, since he’d sent the fool off yesterday to peruse and investigate the surrounding areas to bring him a report back about the mysterious appearance of his friend…

No, the fool was dead.

It was an investigation into the lookalike to which so many spoke reverently about.

Tonight, towards the end of his audiences, Merlin would arrive with the Chaldeans. There would be six of them. The first of the group would be a boy, dark haired with eyes the color of the skies above. He would speak passionately about wanting to save Babylonia. He would bluster his way through shyness and boldness alike, managing to say enough of interest to garner a roof above his head and his time.

The second would be a girl of lilac hair. Charming enough, enamored with the fool she traveled with. The girl would hold a shield, being a servant much like his own. She would be the lead of the three servants that the boy would bring.

Then there would be Merlin and his picked up pup of a companion. The girl was a servant too, but mostly unimportant.

Six people total.

“I need you to arrange the old brewery,” Gilgamesh tells Siduri, fixing his vest a bit. “There will be a total of six beds required.”

“Six?”

“I think Merlin will no doubt join them for respite, but they will need a place to stay, since they are going to hound at our feet until we allow them to have tasks amongst us.”

“The Chaldeans are going to fight? They’re mercenaries then?”

She was so young.

How someone with so many years could act so terribly young, he had no idea. Yet, here she was, youthful and amusing all the way. Gilgamesh nods at her statement.

“They are something to that extent. I think you’ll find yourself beguiled by them enough. They do not care for my long hours.”

“No one does, but they are a necessary evil for you. I only complain out of care for your wellbeing, my king. Had I not, I doubt others would hold the courage. Our king has always been far too grand to wish to disappoint.”

Her smile flashes his way.

She moves to his nightstand, picking up the tablets he’d taken the time to carve into the night before.

“You have no such fear?”

“It’s not that,” her voice replies, softer now than before. Her eyes are focused on the top tablet, her smile dying down once again at the strange cube he’s drawn upon the tablet. Her hands are drifting down the face of the strange creature of a woman that haunted his dreams as of late.

“Remarkable, isn’t she?”

“Is this more of the tale… the one you will not speak of?”

He nods.

“I will look forward to the reading then.” Her hands clutch the stone closer to herself. “I will make sure to prepare the brewery and ensure that the soldiers know to allow Merlin and these Chaldeans into the ziggurat without hesitation.”

“You’re not answering my question.”

That veil is in the way of seeing it, but there’s a smile. Her cheeks are showing a little more at the edge of that dark fabric. Those brown eyes simply gleam in the morning light.

He waits.

“Perhaps clairvoyance will tell you of the answer you seek.”

Cheeky.

She strolls passed him with her tablets, informing the servants to ensure that his morning tablets make it to her desk once he’s spoken of outcomes. She’s letting the doors close, feeling proud once again.

Obsession is what it is, obsession with a tale that makes no sense to him in those late hours of the night. She likes hearing of the sarcastic and bemused woman he’d force to sleep upon the floors in the strange bedchamber with him. She liked the drive and motivations, the questions about his friend and about him…

In simplest of terms, whoever this woman was, Siduri had become smitten.

Now, with an image upon one of the stone tablets, she now had a face to look for in the crowds. She’d never hesitate to look for her. No matter the distance of time between now and when the girl would appear, Siduri would always look for her.

It was a shame then, that the effects of the emotional and experience-oriented feeling of the clairvoyance faded into the abyss of the forgotten soon after he awakened. Any use or interest he could have faded as he became more himself once more.

His attire once more became that of finery of the Uruk standard.

His body ached softly once more of human fatigue, speaking like that of cracks in clay.

Why look for a woman who could possibly just be a dream? Why search for a place of cold and iron? He had gone off on youthful reverie, seeking out the depths of the universe and its meaning. He had stood on the water’s edge and gazed upon the snake stealing one of the two herbs of immortality he had taken. He had watched them meander off with them, knowing eternity was sand. It slipped through his fingers and washed away into the water’s depths.

No, there was no purpose in seeking a lover’s warmth.

The people needed him. They lived for him.

He, in return as their king, would do right by them.

Stepping forth with this in mind, his gaze met the very two he had been intent to search for.

“My king.”

“G’morning King Gilgamesh.”

“Leonidas. Ushiwakamaru,” Gilgamesh nodded to the two, knowing how he would see them later, the two servants that would come behind Gudao and Mash. “Your tasks this morning will be at the gates. Should Merlin return, inquire and follow him. I want to ensure he is not slacking from his duties and entertaining merchants and travelers when we have a singularity to deal with.”

“Understood!”

The two gave a light bow, allowing him to continue on.

Morning light was pouring so nicely through the hallways.

A few child servants were playing in a corner of the hall, allowing him a moment of entertainment as he watched their maneuvers.

It seemed there were a few new rules to the entertaining game the boys had brought up a couple weeks ago. The elder boy was once more explaining them, capturing the interest of the other boy. Their minds were so at ease, so absorbed in their own pleasures. To be so foolish and young, enamored by the latest and most entertaining toys that could be brought forth.

A little ways down the hall, when he stepped away with the rules of the rock game in mind, Gilgamesh found one of the lady maids walking with a wrap around her back. A small infant snoozed away quietly against her chest.

“A few weeks old now,” the maiden told him, face aglow at finding her king pausing at her side.

“May I?”

His arms wrapped around the small bundle, leaning in as he did with so many before.

The brown eyes opened, looking up at him with the same honey-brown gaze he had seen in his dreams.

Something froze in him at the sight. The black hair and the tanned skin was far different, but still…

“My king?”

“Your child has beautiful eyes,” Gilgamesh murmured, closing his own gaze from the infant’s mesmerizing attention.

“T-Thank you, my king!”

The flustered woman welcomed her baby back, hurrying at the behest of her coworkers. Her eager chatter and loud whispers of awe and jealous buzzed at his ears.

“He said my baby had beautiful eyes. They are his father’s eyes.”

“Your daughter is so lucky.”

“What a blessing!”

The deep sigh as he moved to the next hallway was unavoidable. His attention went to the soldiers standing at attention before the audience chamber doors.

His hands pressed to the golden doors.

The lush greenery and vibrant colors of his audience chamber met his eyes. The lions raised their heads to gaze upon him. Siduri’s presence could be seen in the corner, reading as much as she could of the tablets he had written of the mystery moon girl.

His other servants and soldiers were at attention, prepared for yet another day.

“Let us begin,” Gilgamesh announced to the room.

It would be a long day. Longer yet as they reached the point where the Chaldeans would come. These fleeting dreams of his would become null, his focus finally coming as he would be able to indulge himself in the present situation and the joys of war once more.

He would venture forth from this building once more.

The small rush from such news filled him with life anew.

Crop problems were occurring now.

The issues with the singularity are growing forth. The soil was providing issues for the farmers. Three fields were now destroyed. Others were now blaming one another and demanding compensation. Others were fleeing in the midst of the night, scared off by more citizens moving to remain in the depths of the kingdom’s city limits to escape the threats of the outside world.

Hunters were vanishing.

The news came from a young boy, standing upon trembling legs. The dark eyes avoided him, speaking to his feet rather than his face.

Young, but not so young he would forget the foolish time he had sought the warmth of the maidens of Uruk.

“That is enough.” Gilgamesh waved a hand, looking to Siduri nearby. “See to it that a party is put together tomorrow to search for the missing hunters. The day is waning. Going now with the rainfall coming this evening would be a fool’s errand.”

“My king,” the boy objected.

“Do you wish to argue my decision?”

The fool looked into his own eyes, but a glint of gold flashed in those eyes. Defiance, temper… _Displeasure glimmered from those eyes much like hers…_

“…Send a handful of soldiers in the next hour, Siduri.”

Gilgamesh rubbed at his face, closing his eyes to banish the thoughts from his mind once more. He didn’t need to be thinking about such things. A glance to the boy showed his fear had stopped. He looked proud now, standing a little taller, smiling despite his earlier trepidation.

He had conquered his fear, portrayed his need to find his father to the one man in his world that made the mountains move and the sun rise and set.

The little fool thought himself more than a king.

“My king,” Siduri tried.

He waved a hand. “Send Benkei with a couple soldiers. He will ensure that they manage to bring the hunters back. He has shown his capabilities more than once before.”

The sun was drifting over the room as more people came and went.

The situations turned to rubble, severity diminishing from grandeur to the mundane. A few advisors of his were now entering, their minds filled with the chaos of cyclical responsibilities. Immediate concerns of old were once more coming up, as they did at this time of year. Fears of markets with not enough food. Fears of dry spring weather and fears of sickness as the weather grew far warmer plagued their heels.

Silly things, of course, in the grand scheme of things.

Their minds should have been on the singularity that threatened to destroy their time and world. They should have been wondering about the fears and threats that sent so many into their city walls and into the care of their families who remained here. They should have concerned themselves with the reason why those food fears were far grander than before.

Perhaps a reminder was in order.

“Listen well,” Gilgamesh commanded, brushing a hand down his vest. His mouth formed the shape of the next word, but his voice died at the sight of white flashing in the doorway.

Merlin had arrived.

“MY KING!” Merlin harked, waving a hand. “I BRING COMPANY!”

“I believe I sent you out for information, not to collect more mouths to feed,” Gilgamesh complained, as he had in his dream before. Now he would hear the foolish Chaldean speaking forth, allowing himself to be seen and heard without provocation. He would clear the floor and challenge them to a fight. They would be bid to entertain him for a moment before-

“I brought company,” Gudao of Chaldea declared, as though he had been bid forth to speak, but the figure that moved forth behind him was not that of the lilac haired shield wielder. She came behind this figure.

The figure that came behind her was of buttercake brown hair and sunbleached stone colored skin. Her plain features were hugged by ill suited attire, exposing her to the point of outrage. She came to a stop beside him, her eyes rising to look up to him.

Honey-colored eyes, filled with a lioness’ promise of vibrance and intrigue should he dare to come closer.

There were seven people who came into his chamber in that moment.

The woman had slipped around his clairvoyance. 


End file.
